Itachi's Choice
by 13litz13last
Summary: Spoilers for Chap. 400-ish. Itachi is dead, but he has another decision to make in the afterlife. Live an afterlife of happiness, or watch over his brother for the rest of eternity? Probably my best work.


"Where…" murmured the raven-haired man, peeking through his heavy eyelids. "Where…am I?"

Blackness surrounded him, but this was nothing unusual. Itachi had been surrounded by darkness most of his adult life, due to the Mangekyo's blindness.

"Am I…dead?" Itachi mumbled, to no one. He was sure he was. There was no way he could be alive, not after Sasuke's brutal beating.

"Yes," said a voice. Itachi froze. _If I'm dead, _thought Itachi, _who am I talking to? Where am I? And why can't I even feel the person's presence?_

"It is ok, Itachi," said the voice. "All your thoughts are voices to us. And since we, in this world, are technically not alive, you cannot feel us here."

"Technically?" Itachi questioned, and realized he now felt a hardness beneath him. Ground. He hauled himself into a sitting position, expecting to feel hurt, but felt nothing. _I guess there is no pain in the afterlife._

"We like to call it the Afterworld, since we don't think we're alive."

"You're not even sure? Who are you, anyway?"

There was a light. A single burning fire. Itachi could see it clearly. His eyesight had returned? Grateful for the clarity he'd lost for so many years, he stood weakly and stumbled to sit on a log that surrounded the blaze. Even if he wasn't alive, he felt the pleasant warmth that the fire generated.

A dark figure began to emerge from the darkness. "You always did enjoy the little things in life."

"What else was there to enjoy?" Itachi said, squinting into the darkness. "Come into the light, please. I want to see you."

"If you are done enjoying the warmth of the fire, please come to me. I have someplace I want to show you."

Itachi coughed. It was so nice, this little fire. But Itachi was too curious. He lifted himself, stepped cautiously around the fire, and began to step toward the figure.

"You're still afraid of pain?" the figure said. The voice was clearly male. "You need not worry. Nothing can hurt you here. Except emotional pain."

_Emotional pain in the worst kind of pain, _Itachi thought, but thankfully the figure said nothing.

Suddenly, there was bright flash of light, and Itachi had to shield his eyes from the brightness. Not that it hurt, it was just overwhelming.

Before him stood mountainous golden gates, perched on a ground of the most beautiful clouds he'd ever seen. They were locked currently, but Itachi had the feeling they would soon open.

"Itachi," said the figure beside him, who, in the light, was a simple light in itself in the shape of a man. "You have lived your life in the best way possible for you. You gave everything up for the sake of your home, and your precious little brother. Now you have a choice to make."

Itachi said nothing. All he wanted to do was to open the gates and be welcomed into a world of happiness. A world he'd always dreamed of having but never thought he would actually receive.

"You could enter the Afterworld and live a certain sort of life there," said the light, "Or you could go back and look after your little brother for the rest of his days, in the form of a cloud above his head."

Itachi stared. This was a strange choice, but one he knew he had to consider very deeply. "When Sasuke dies," he asked, "would we both get to live together within your world?"

The voice turned grave. "No. Your brother will go…someplace else. And you, upon his death, will be reduced to nothingness. The end of you, forever."

Itachi stared at the gates. Eternal happiness lay before him. Everything he ever wanted he could have, except for his brother. Just what that happiness was Itachi couldn't guess.

On the other hand, he could watch over his little brother for the rest of his days. Itachi knew that if he went into the land before him, he would never see his younger brother ever again.

Itachi faced the light, who he had come to think of as the Higher Being, the Creator, Him. God.

Itachi took a deep breath. His beautiful hair swayed in a small breeze, his onyx eyes closed in thought, and he bit one soft lip.

Opening his eyes, he said, "I choose…"

-

_What do you believe Itachi Uchiha chose? Was he sick of his life of evil on earth, ready for the happiness he'd never been able to maintain? Or was his love for Sasuke so strong, he couldn't stop himself from looking after his beloved brother for the rest of the boy's days? _

_It is up to you to decide._


End file.
